The faces behind bipolar disorder

Photo Courtesy of Mars EntertainmentThe documentary "Family Matters:Surviving the Bipolar Journey" features Kristy who has just been diagnosed with the illness.

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. — A smiling Erica Kovacs sat at the front of the crowded room, answering questions about her mental illness. She talked passionately about her life over the past eight years and how she is coping with bipolar disorder.

The 31-year-old Bay Terrace resident is one of more than 10 million Americans living with the disorder characterized by mood shifts consisting of manic highs and depressive lows.

On Aug. 10, she participated in a film and panel discussion with those living with bipolar disorder, their family members, and mental health professionals, presented by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Staten Island and the South Beach Psychiatric Center as part of their annual Summer Mental Health Film Festival.

About 80 people gathered at the center in Ocean Breeze to learn more about the disorder. Ms. Kovacs, who has battled depression most of her life, said she had her first manic episode in 2003, shortly after her father died. Today, with the right medication, therapy and family support, she is persevering despite the diagnosis.

“Like anybody else out there, we [people with mental illness] have our ups and downs with life’s journey,” Ms. Kovacs told a reporter after the event. “We are just as good as the next person and deserve to have just as much opportunity as anyone else out there.” FAMILY MATTERS

The evening began with a screening of the documentary “Family Matters: Surviving the Bipolar Journey,” which chronicles four families with a member who has the illness.

There’s Ted, who is struggling with the diagnosis of his daughter, Kristy, after she undergoes a manic episode that leaves her hospitalized in a foreign country. Theresa worries her daughter, Valerie, diagnosed with the disorder, will follow in the footsteps of her own mother, who took her life because of the illness.

For Melanie, whose husband, Keith, was diagnosed with the most severe type of bipolar disorder, balancing a full-time job, raising two sons and caring for her husband leaves her exhausted. And Denise and Michael seem to have a picture-perfect retirement, but its clouded by 20 years of Michael’s psychotic episodes and depressions.

“It certainly does create turmoil and confusion for family members, especially if someone is newly diagnosed,” said panel participant Doris Joy, a registered nurse, social worker and director of Family Services at South Beach Psychiatric Center.

“It’s hard to grasp the diagnosis,” she told a reporter following the event. “‘What does it mean? Where will I go from here? How do I navigate a system that is often confusing? What do I do for my loved one?’ It’s pretty scary.”

Ms. Joy, who facilitates the South Richmond Family Support Group at the center for people coping with a family member’s diagnosis, works to answer these and other questions and educate families so they “feel more in control and less frightened.”

She said the family members she sees — mainly parents — go through a bevy of emotions, including anger at why the illness happened, sadness and guilt over whether they caused it and depression over dealing with the symptoms of bipolar disorder. BE SUPPORTIVE

While it’s important for family members to reach out for help, it’s also essential they support loved ones afflicted with the disorder, the experts on the panel said.

Dr. Claire Attia, a psychiatrist with the center’s Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Team, advises family and friends to remind patients of their support during depressive episodes, even if the person doesn’t respond. Make sure they’re safe from harm and watch out for suicidal gestures, she said. Also be realistic — don’t expect too much of them during this time.

During mania, a patient may get very excited, display inflated self-esteem, talk more or try to accomplish numerous tasks at once. Be patient and don’t raise your voice, the psychiatrist said.

“Don’t challenge their behavior, and be as calm as possible,” Dr. Attia counseled. “Take them for a short walk if they can’t sleep or provide them with a warm cup of milk,” she continued. “If you feel they will do something impulsively, take the car keys away. Make sure they don’t do anything that can cause danger to the patient or the community.”

Dr. Attia explained that there is no cure for bipolar disorder; it’s something the person will cope with throughout their life. Symptoms usually appear in adolescence or early adulthood — although it tends to take around 10 years to diagnose the disorder, since the depressive symptoms often are more apparent — and typically are managed with medication and therapy.

Finding the correct medication and dosage can also take some time and the disorder is often treated with a mixture of a mood stabilizer and anti-psychotic, Dr. Attia noted.

“[Those with bipolar disorder] are functional in the community as long as they remain under medication and work with a psychiatrist and receive the supportive therapy they require,” she said. “They can remain stable in their mood, resume functioning, go back to work and lead a normal life.” ONE WOMAN’S JOURNEY

One participant at the Aug. 10 event said she knows bipolar disorder and its related afflictions well. Kelle Shields of Graniteville said she started exhibiting symptoms following her divorce in late 2002. She was diagnosed in June 2003, after a manic episode that left her hospitalized.

A teacher, the now-34 year-old resigned from her job to concentrate on getting healthy. After a year and a-half, the right dosage of medicine was calculated and she was undergoing therapy to help her cope with the disorder. Support from loved ones also was key to her success.

“My parents and my friends have always been completely behind me, no matter what. They never treated me any different,” Mrs. Shields said. “It’s all about support,” she continued, pleading with others who have bipolar disorder, “Just keep a social network, don’t leave yourself to be alone.”

Today, Mrs. Shields is back at work, teaching children with special needs. Following her diagnosis, she returned to school and has since received two master’s degrees. She also has remarried and her husband is taking the necessary steps to learn how to cope with a family member with mental illness.

Mrs. Shields wants those living with the disorder, and their loved ones, to know that there is hope.

“You need to be proud of who you are, and I’m really proud of who I am right now,” she said. “I can’t wait to see what the future brings. It’s just going to get better from here, and that’s the way I see my life now.”